Machine for molding plastic materials.



PATENTED JAN. 1, 1907.

A. LUTZB. MACHINE FOR MOLDING PLASTIC MATERIALS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.13, 1906.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

msuzs' PATENTED JAN. 1, 1907.

A. LUTZE. MAGHINEFOR MOLDING PLASTIC MATERIALS.

APPLIGATION FILED JAN.13. 1906.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. 839,941. PATENTED JAN. 1, i907.

4 LUTZE. MACHINE FOR MOLDING PLASTIC MATERIALS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13, 1906.

' 7 SHEBTS-SHEBT 3' mists fife/w? M fimgm PATENTED JAN. 1, 1907.

A.LUTZE. MACHINE FOR MOLDING PLASTIC MATERIALS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.13, 1906.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

No- 839,941. PATENTED JAN. 1, 1907.

A. LUTZE.

MACHINE FOR MOLDING PLASTIC MATERIALS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.1 3, 1906.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

PATENTED-JAN. 1, 1907.

A. LUTZB. 4 MACHINE FOR MOLDING PLASTIC MATERIALS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13, 1906.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

Z: A w/ x J 7 :M i. a. x 3 Q fifi a No. 839,941. PATENTED JAN. 1, 1907.

v A. LUTZE. MACHINE FOR MOLDING PLASTIG'MATERIALS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.13, 1906.

49 a? 7SHEETS SHEET 7.

8.7 a5 E g UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED LUTZE, OF HALLE-ON-THE-SAALE, GERMANY.

MACHINE FOR momma PLASTIC MATERIALS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 1, 1907.

Application filed January 13, 1906. Serial No. 295.939.

T at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED LU'IZE, a subject of the German Emperor, residing at Halle-on-the-Saale, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Molding Plastic Materials, of which the following is a specification.

The resent invention relates to that class of mol ing-machines for lastic materials in which the material place in the cylindrical casing of the machine is driven through an aperture in said casing or pressed into a mold arranged in front of said aperture, the material being driven by means of a rotary-vane mechanism arranged in said casin or by means of a'worm assisted by a mova 1e part actuated bya weighted lever, the pieces be-- ing then cut by a cutting device. and com- 1l 1rletely.-molded, whereupon the are removed om the mold or molds by a p unger.

The novelty of the present invention lies chiefly in the fact that the mold and plunger formin the bottom thereof are arranged in a drum-s aped casing, the operation of the drum bein produced by means of a-toothed sector, am? between the gear forthe lun er a cou ling mechanism isinter 'osed,w 'ch y a loc ing device and controliin ear acting thereon, is connected to a mova e two-part sto block acted on by the Weighted lever an one part of said block being connected to the main driving-gear in such a manner or in such cooperation that when there is sufficient materlal in the casing and said material has not IlBOBiVGd the necessary compression in the mold the drum is caused to revolve periodically; but, the part of the block operated b the main gear in common with the contro ling, and the locking device prevents the couplin ofthe secondary gear with the drivin -sha t for the plunger, and the action of the atter is therefore stopped, whereas if -the material is compressed to the limit determined by the weighted lever the stop-block, which insures the degree of compression 'of the material, is moved backward and disene gages the intermediate member inserted between it and the controllingmechanism, so that the locking device is therefore not Opel ated and allows the coupling of the lungeroperating mechanism, whereupon t e drum and plunger are periodically rotated or moved in such a manner that during one revolution of the drum the mold is filled, and the completely-molded piece is forced out of said drum, the plunger during the filling of the mold being Withdrawn into the latter and effecting a suctional action on the material, whereas after filling the rotation of the drum causes the superfluous material to be removed from the mold by means of a knife 0 erated by the drum for the pur ose of o taining pieces of uniform size an weight.

The, improved machine is shown in the annexed drawings, in wh1ch Figure 1 is a frontelevation of the main gear; Fig. 2, a vertical section on the line M M of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a rear view of the machine, partly in section; Fig. 4, a horizontal section on the line N N of Flg. 3, and Fig. 5 a

front view of Fig. 3. Figs. 6 to 16 show details.

In the cylindrical casing or chamber 1- is a shaft 2, extending laterally into said casing and carrying a disk 3, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, actuated by gear at a suitable speed. Close to the outer edge of said disk 3 is located a wall 4, extending across the whole interior width of the casing, and in the hollowed front end of said wall is supported a Vane 7 by means of a ball-joint, said vane being guided in a roller 6, eccentrically su ported by means of a pivot 5, by means of w ch vane, on revolution of the disk 3, the material fed into the casing is driven through a nozzle 9, in communication with a discharge-aperture 8 in the bottom of the casing 1 and forced into the mold 11, carried by a rotary drum 10. In one side wall of the nozzle 9 is an inclined knife 12, as shown in Fig. 3, said knife being connected to the rotary drum by means of a bell-crank lever or by levers 15 16 and roller 17, fixed to a pivot 14, mounted in bearings 13, and at a certain time actuated by a camsurface 18 on the drum, which acts on the roller 17 and levers 15 16,- so that during the passage of the mold 1 1 below the knife 12 the superfluous material is removed from the mold in a straight line.

The drum 10, Fig. 2, is surrounded b a jacket fixed to the machine-frame an is rotatable about a shaft 20 by means of a long hub 19. The di'um carries the mold 11 in a segment 21, the bottom of said mold be ing formed by a movable plunger 22, which is connected to a frame 24, guided between bars 23. Between parts of the frame 24 engages the pin 26, carrying a roller 25,said pin eing mounted on a crank-disk 27, fixed on the shaft 20, so that on rotation of said disk 5 the frame 24 is displaced between the guides 23 and the plunger 22 moved upward or downward in the mold 11. I

In the frame'24 is loosely inserted acrossbar 28, Figs. 2 and 3-, adapted to be displaced- I to with regard to the crank-disk 27'by means of "a screw-spindle 29 so that the plunger 22 is caused to make a longer or shorter stroke. As the lunger 22 closes the mold 11 at one end an the stroke to be made thereby can 31, continuously revolving during the action of the machine and driven from the main drivinggear inthe proportion of one to two.

. This sector causes an intermittent revolution 55 of the drum' 10. On the said shaft 31 is also mounted a toothed wheel 33, meshing wit a I toothed wheel 34, loosely mounted on the shaft 20. The latter toothed wheel is provided' with an elongated hub 35, Figs. 7 8, and 9, in which is a' spring-pressed catch 36,

which engages a notch 37 on the shaft 20, and has in addition to the e aging tooth 38- roper a shorter curved'or we ge-sha ed proection 39, which on engagement of t e tooth n 38 in the notch in the shaft bears againstthe latter. The hub of the toothed wheel 34 is provided at its end with an annular ro'ection 40, into the path of which the we ge-like projection 39 of thecatch extends. In front 40 of the hub 35 there is. arranged a crescent shaped slide 41,'ada ted to fit into the annular space between t e'shaft 20 and the projection 40, said slide being acted on .by a spring 42 and connected to a 'pin 43, loosely .5 guided in the'wall of the frame. The purpose of this slide is to prevent the coupling of the gear-wheel 34 with the shaft 20 if the chamber is ,insufliciently filled with material. For this purpose the slide is connected with a double-armed lever 45, pivotally connected to the frame at 44, and the nose-shaped end 46 of the said lever is adapted to be operated by a bell-crank lever 48, mounted on an axle '47. For operating the lever 48a lever 49 is ivotally connected with the stop-block be ore referred'to. The latter comprises two relatively movable parts 50 and 51. .The

part 50 extends through an aperture into the casing 1, and thus normally shuts off the space between the roller 6 and the aperture 8, Fig. 3. The shaft 2 and disk 3 being rotated in anticlockwise direction, the vane 7 presses the plastic mass in the chamber 1 against the block 50, projecting into the said chamber. .The part 51 is slidable on the .a sleeve 63, rotatable on a gudgeon 62, two

upwardly-directed 'cams' 641 and 65 being fixed to said sleeveat a suitable distance apart, so that a disk 66 mounted on the shaft 2, extends between said cams, said disk being 8c provided withlateral rollers 67 and 68, Figs. 1 and 2. During the rotation of the shaft 2 the inner surfaces of the cams 64 and 65 alternately abut against said rollers, and thus cause the arm 61 to oscillate. The oscillatory movement of the said arm is transmitted, by meansof the mechanismdescribed, to the 4 lever 57, so that the parts 50 and 51 are positively reciprocated.

At the rear of the slidable part 51 an axle 69 is mounted; and a finger 70, fixed to said axle in the central part of the slide, engages a" recess 71 in the art 50. To one end of the axle 69 there is ed anarm 72,which when plate 74, pivoted at 73.

The plate 74 ,is provided at its lower part with a projecting eye 100, engaged by a rod 101, connected to a'double-armed weighted lever 103, fulcrumed at 102 on a pillar of the machine-frame. This lever 103 forces the plate 74 against'an abutment 104, and thus exerts pressure on the block 50 by means abutting against. the arm 72. Below the block 50 a double-armed lever 76 is fulcrumed at 75 on the machine-frame. oneendof the said lever being bent upward at a right angle to pass through a slot 'rovided in the table 52. The 11 per end 0 the upwardlybent part of the ever 76 is provided with a tooth 79 and a wedge-like projection ,81, the former engaging a recess in the part 51 and the latter a recess 82 in the slide 50. One Wall of the recess 82 is inclined. ,A spring 77 acting on the lever 76 tends to press the parts 79 and 81 into the recesses 80'and 82 and to lace the other end of the said lever in the pat of a roller 78, connected to the side of the toothed wheel 33, Figs. 1 and 4, so that during the rotation of the latter the roller actuates the lever 76 and disengages the parts 79 and 81 from the recesses 80 and 82 in order that the slides 50 and 51 can be reciprocated by means of the levers 64, 65, 61,60, 59, and 57, operated by the disk 66, the coupling of the main driving mechanism with the auxiliary mechanism beingprevented by the lever 49, which is connected tothe part 51'by means of a resiliently-sup orted pin 83 and an abutment 84 and whic the lever 48.

. If before the lever mechanism is started the accumulation of plastic mass in the cooperates with chamber 1 causes a certain pressure to be-exleases the lever 49, a wedge-likeprojection the latter from the sai lever.

86 of the slide 50, Figs. 6 and 15, cooperating with the head 85 of the in 83 to withdraw The continued movement of the slide 50 causes the slide 51 to be displaced by the pin 55, thelever 49 being thus rocked Without actuating the lever 48, so that slide 41 remains disengaged and the catch 36 on the hub 35 of the toothed wheel 34 can engage the shaft 20. To the lower end of said lever 49 is connected a movable double cam 87, the movement of which in one direction is limited by an abntment 88, whereas the said cam is freely movable'i'n the opposite direction.

The action of the machine is as follows: So long as the casing does not contain a sufficient quantity of material or so loiigas the latter has not been compressed to the proper" density by the parts 6 and 7, onl the drum 10 revolves, together with the dis 3, and the parts 6 and 7 are operated. The block 50 51 is also horizontally and positively recipro cated by means of mechanisms 66, 67, 68, 64, 65, 61, 60,59, 58, and 57. The lever 49 also takes part in this movement, and since the upper end thereof is held fast by the pin 83 and abutment 88 the said pin 83, during each return movement of the slide or stopblock, exerts pressure on the bell-crank lever 48', and thus rocks the latter, the rocking end of the lever 48 acting in such a manner on the nose-shaped end46 of the lever'45' that the slide 41, connected with the latter, is pushed between the hub part 40 and the shaft .20,and the catch 36, connected with the toothed wheel 34, is thus prevented from engagin the notch 37 in the shaft 20. The latter an the plunger 22in the mold therefore remain the displacement of the slide takes place. As-

soon as there is sufiicient material 1n the easing or chamber 1 and when'the saidmaterial has been compressed to the extent deter mined by means of the weighted lever the pressure due tothe material moves the part below it.

50 toward the rear, so that the inclined surface of the recess 82 disengages the lever 76 from the recess 80 in the slide 51, and the tooth 86, acting on the projection of'the -pin 83, causes the latter to be withdrawn,

and thus releases the lever 49. When during the further movement of the part 50 the lever 49 abuts against the lever 48, the former merely rotates about its pivot without actuating the levers 48 and 45, so that the slide 41 remains disengaged and the catch 36 on the hub 35 of the toothed Wheel 34 can engagethe shaft 20. Thereupon the drum 10 and plunger 22 are intermittently so operated that during each'revolution of the drum the mold 1 1 is filled and the contents thereof removed from the latter. p

With the parts in the positionsshown in Figs. 1 to 3 the mold 11 is below the discharge-aperture 8 of the chamberl, and the sector 32 is disengaged from the drivingwheel 30, so that the drum 10 remains stationary. Thereupon the action of the crank-' disk 27 on the frame 24 causes the plunger 22 to be withdrawn into themold and to pro-' duce a suctional effect by which the material acted on by the parts 6 and 7 is, as it were, drawn into the mold. The plunger then becomes stationary after entering into the mold to a predetermined extent and the mold is charged. Meanwhile the sector 32 engages the wheel 30, and thedrum 10 is rotated. The cam-surface 18 on the latter thereupon acts on the knife 12 by means of the roller 17 and levers 15 and 16, so that the excess of material is cut away from the mold moving Alter one half-revolution of the drum the sector 32' is 'disen aged from the wheel 30', and the crank-dish 27 thereupon immediately moves the frame 24 and plun er 22 downward, so that the molded materia is moved through an aperture in the wall of'the jacket surrounding the drum 10. After the next enga ement ofthe sector 32 with the wheel 30' t e drum is rotated through a further one hundred and eighty degrees, so that the mold 'is again moved underneath the dis? charge-apertureand the o eration described IIO is repeated so long as the c amber 1 contains sufficient material, which is subjected to the ressure determined by means of the weighted ever. I

As has already been mentioned, the part 50 checks the material actuated by the vane 7 and does not lyield until a certain amount of compression as been effected. The ma- 1 terial pressed into the mold is therefore not only uniformlycompressed, but remains in the state of compression imparted to it, since It follows from this that it cannotrecede. the molded bodies Wei ht and size.

0 increase the efiiciency of the machine, the drum' 10 can be provided with two molds produced are uniform in 11 and plungers 22, as shown inFigs. 10 and 11-. In this case the frame 24 is provided with two loose cross-bars 28, and each pluner has a separate screw-spindle, so that the depth to whlch the molds are filled can be exactly controlled. What I claim as my invention, and desire to'secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a machine for molding plastic materials the combination .of a feed-chamber having a discharge-aperture means for compressing the material in said chamber and forcin same toward the dischar e-aperture, a mol d in communication with said discharge-a erture, a rotatable drum carrying said mol( and havingan outlet, areci rocating plunger in said mold forming the ottom thereof, mechanism for reciprocating said plunger'and means for putting said plungerreciprocating mechanism into and out of action for the purpose set forth.

2. In a machine for molding plastic materials, the combination of a feed-chamber hav- 25 ing a discharge-aperture, means for compressingtthe material in said chamber and forcin same toward the dischar e-aperture, a mo (1 in communication wit said discharge-aperture, a rotatable drum carrying 0 said mold and having an outlet, a reci meating plunger in the mold forming the ottom thereof, a reciprocatable block controlled by a weight and extending into the feed-chamber,-mechanism for periodically rotating the drum, mechanism for reciprocating the lunger and means in connection with the lock aforesaid for putting said plunger-reciprocating mechanism into and out of action for the purposeset forth. 3. In a machine for molding plastic materials the combination of a feed-chamber having a discharge-aperture, V means for comj pressing the material in said chamber and forcing same toward the dischar e-aperture, a mold in communication with said discharge-aperture, a rotatable drumcarrymg said mold and having an outlet, a reciprocating plunger in the molds forming the bottom thereof, a reciprocatable block controlled by a weight and extending into the feed-chamber, mechanism for periodically rotating the drum mechanisms for reciprocating the plunger, means in connection with the block aforesaid for putting said plunger-recipro- 5 5 eating mechanism into and out of action and means for locking said block at intervals substantially as described;

4. In a machine for molding plastic materials the combination of a feed-chamber having a discharge-aperture, means for compressing the material in said chamber andforcing same toward the discharge-aperture, a mold in communication with said discharge-- aperture, a rotatable drum carrying said mold and having an outlet, a reciprocating ber, mechanism for periodically rotating the mold-drum, mechamsm for reciprocating the plunger, means in connection with the block aforesaid for puttin said plunger-reciprooating mechanism i to and out of action, means for locking said block at intervals and means for removing superfluous material from the mold substantially as described.

5. In a machine for molding plastic material the combination of a feed-chamber a bipartite reciprocatable weight-controlled block extending thereinto, a mold in communication with said feed-chamber a rotatable drum carrying said mold, means for periodically rotating said drum, a plunger within the mold and forming the hollow thereof, a crank-disk for reciprocating said plunger a shaft carrying said crank-disk and mechanism operated by the movement of the block for coupling and uncoupling said shaft for the purpose set forth.

6. In a machine for molding plastic material the combination of a feed-chamber a reciprocatable weight-controlled block extending thereinto, a mold in communication with said feed-chamber, a rotatable drum carrying said mold, means for periodically rotatinterposed between said recess and catch to disconnect the latter, lever mechanism operated by the movement of the block for actuating said slide and a resilient pin and coacting abutment on the two parts of the block respectively for engaging said lever mechanism substantially as described.

7. In a machine for molding plasti'c ma terial the combination with a feed-chamber a rotatable disk within the latter, rollers carriedby said disk, aweight-controlled block extending into said chamber, a pin-and-slot connection between the two parts of said block, a plurality of cams acted upon by the rollers on the aforesaid disk and shaft and lever mechanism between the cams and blockwhereby the latter is reciprocated substantially as described.

8. In a machine for molding plastic material the combination of a block having a recess in its lower surface, a. double-armed spring-pressed locking-lever adapted to engage said recess, a rotatable disk a roller on .the latter adapted to actuate said lever clined plane on the block and coacting proj ection on the lever for releas' the latter on rearward movement of the b ock substantially as described. I

9. In a machine for molding plastic material the combination of an intermittentlyrotatable drum, a mold carried thereby and reciprocatable plunger within said mold, a cam-surface on the periphery of the drum a I0 knife adapted to be moved across the mouth of the mold and a lever acted upon by said cam-surface on rotation of the drum to so move said knife substantially as described.

In Witness whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two witnesses. 1 5

ALFRED 'LUTZ-E.

' Witnesses:

Mom'rz SrREE'R, RUDOLPH FRIoKE. 

